Closed circuit TV, for example, a video surveillance, system has become increasingly popular in such applications as banks, department stores, outdoor parking lots, apartment buildings, and in industrial surveillance. The cost of the video camera is a major factor in selecting such security systems and advancements in solid state technology and development of CCD (charge coupled device) cameras have reduced the costs and greatly enhanced the market for such systems. Interchangeable lenses allow use of closed circuit video in many situations for both close and also distant surveillance. However, picture resolution, that is, the number of lines per frame, which is achieved with the small CCD pickup elements used in surveillance video cameras, is substantially below the quality of conventional broadcast television reception. Quality is far below the resolution which is anticipated from forthcoming high definition television systems. If the maximum inherent capability of a CCD video camera is to be realized in actual usage, it is essential that the optical system bring the observed image into the sharpest possible focus on the imaging pick-up element, that is, the CCD screen. Failure to maintain the planar receiving surface of the CCD image pickup element truly parallel to the lens throughout a given range of focusing adjustment, is a deficiency in many prior art CCD video cameras. Commercial CCD video cameras are known having a somewhat unstable mechanism for adjusting the focus of the camera using a pair of opposed bearings.